Roger Kingdom OLY (born August 26, 1962) is an American former sprint hurdler who was twice Olympic champion in the 110 meters. Kingdom set a world record of 12.92 in 1989. He is now an athletics coach and strength and conditioning coach who currently works as a speed and conditioning coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL.
Kingdom (center)
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| Full name | Roger Nona Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1962-08-26) August 26, 1962 (age 61) Vienna, Georgia, United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Pittsburgh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 91 kg (201 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Updated on 10 February 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |
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As strength & conditioning coach:
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Born in Vienna, Georgia, an athlete of note Kingdom excelled at the high jump and discus in his formative years as well as being a noteworthy American football player. He attended the University of Pittsburgh originally on a football scholarship but excelled on the school's track team winning the NCAA outdoor national championship in the 110 meter hurdles in 1983 and the NCAA indoor national championship in the 55 meter hurdles in 1984.
He had a long and distinguished career on the track in the 110 meter high hurdles, winning his first Olympic gold medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics. In 1988, he was unbeaten all season and was the favorite to retain his Olympic title in the 1988 Summer OlympicsinSeoul, South Korea. In a stunning display of technique, power, and speed, he won by three meters, becoming the first man to run below the 13 second barrier in an Olympic final, running 12.98s. This record stood until 1996 when Allen Johnson broke it at the Atlanta Games. Kingdom is only the second athlete to have successfully defended his 110 m hurdle Olympic title, after Lee Calhoun, who won the gold medal in both 1956 and 1960.
Kingdom set a 110 m high hurdles World Record of 12.92 seconds in Zürich, Switzerland in 1989. This stood until August 20, 1993 when it was beaten by 1/100th of a second by Colin JacksonofGreat BritaininStuttgart, Germany, a subsequent record that stood for 13 years.
His progress was hampered some in 1991 when he underwent surgery to repair ACL damage and remove bone chips from his knee. He returned to competition to win the gold medal in the 1995 Pan American Games and the bronze medal in the 1995 World Championships in Athletics.
Kingdom retired from active athletic competition in 1999.
In 2006, Kingdom was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. He was inducted along with NFL's Bap Manzini and MLB's Jim Russell.
In 2018, Kingdom was included in the inaugural class of the University of Pittsburgh Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame
Kingdom joined the California University of Pennsylvania's athletics staff as an assistant Track & Field and Cross Country coach in 2004. He then became the director of both teams in 2006.
On March 6, 2014, Kingdom was hired as the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals. Kingdom worked with head strength and conditioning coach Buddy Morris, his own strength coach at the University of Pittsburgh, and focused on improving the team's speed.[2]
Kingdom then spent the 2018 season as the Interim Director of Track & Field/Cross Country at the University of Central Florida
In 2019, Kingdom returned to the NFL as the speed and conditioning coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In Tampa, he again worked under head coach Bruce Arians, who was the Cardinals’ head coach during Kingdom’s tenure in Arizona.[3]
In 2021, Kingdom won a Super Bowl title in Super Bowl LV.[4]
Kingdom is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
He currently resides in Orlando, Florida with his wife, Mary. They have three daughters: Jierra, Cierra and Carina.
(110 m hurdles unless stated)
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| Preceded by | Men's 110 m hurdles world record holder August 16, 1989 – August 20, 1993 |
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| Preceded by | Men's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 1989 |
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| Preceded by | Men's 110 m Hurdles Best Year Performance 1985 1988–1989 |
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